Warlocks and assassins
by weir'wyvern-85
Summary: What happens when Merlin speaks out in the council chambers? How will the noblemen take a servant voicing his opinions? One-shot.


**First ever fanfic, hope you enjoy**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin  
**

"The people need our help" his king said indignantly. He was trying to stand up for a villager of one of his outlying towns who had come asking for help in rebuilding their homes. He had come with the patrol of knights- and Merlin- who had been sent to assist the wounded (and the knights though they didn't know it) to defeat a magical beast. In it's reign over the small town, it had destroyed more than half of the houses and other buildings and cut their livestock down dramatically.

"We should not be wasting our time on this ridiculousness, the village should fare for itself, we have done all that is required by riding them of the beast" replied on of the council members angrily.

"We did that only because the beast had magic, it was only a coincidence that we saved the town at all. We have done nothing that was truly for the villagers" argued Leon. Gaius and Geoffrey sat back in their chairs watching the exchange. They had been through so many of these discussions before, they new any advice they had to give would likely not be listened too.

Another noble took up the argument "it hardly matters what reason we went after the beast, it is dead now. The taxes that those citizens pay us for our protection has been paid back with the slaying of the beast, whatever the reason. We have no reason to waste money, that we need for the kingdom, on these peasants".

Merlin could see his King wilting at the words of the council. He was still new at being King, and was scared of making mistakes. The nobles of the council were all supporters of Uther, and how he controlled the kingdom. They expected Arthur to be the same kind of king as his father had been. Arthur could not just ignore the wishes of the council, still being new to the throne, it was important that he have their support.

"They are just as much a part of this Kingdom as any of the closer villages" Merlin was almost surprised to here his own voice argue against the word of a noble that wasn't Arthur. If the silence was anything to go by, the rest of the room was just as shocked.

At last the silence was broken by the King who was used to his servant speaking out of term. "He's right, they are my people, and they need help which I can provide, what kind of King would I be to not listen to the requests of my people?"

"A cautious one" mumbled one of the nobles though he knew the King meant it to be rhetorical.

Paying no attention to the comment, Arthur looked about the room he asked "can one of you find an excuse as to why I should do nothing to help these people?".

"We cannot spare the money or the men to help them rebuild such a small town" one said.

"As you said, it is a small town, it will not require to much of our resources, and besides that point, Merlin, what do you think would happen if I were to deny this village their request?".

"My lord?" Merlin asked confused and at the stares of the nobles he felt heat rise to his cheeks and his noticeable ears.

"Tell me what you think would happen if I were to deny this village a way to repair itself" he prompted.

"My lord!" one of the nobles rose to his feet indignantly "he is but a servant and I do not believe that the boy should be allowed to speak so out of place, or rather at all in this room other than a dire message for his highness".

At this, Arthur's face showed the rage that was bubbling up from inside of him and he looked around the room to see similar looks of annoyance that was on the man who had spoken out. "You all feel this about him?"

Most nodded though some looked sheepish at doing it, except for Leon, Geoffrey, and Gaius who all looked as outraged as the King. "Merlin here, is someone I trust with my life, and though he may not look it, or even at times act it, he is wise and I value his opinion".

Leon added his voice to his Kings attempting to stand up for Merlin "He also comes from a small village like the one that we were discussing. He understands these matters better than any of us could hope to". Arthur nodded to his knight in thanks for his words.

Looking to Merlin he once again prompted to speak "Tell us what you think Merlin". Merlin looked to where Gaius sat seeing him give a small encouraging nod, the boy took a deep breath and began to speak.

"If we were to not help these people many of them will die when winter comes, which will happen soon. As bad as it would be just to lose a citizen, their deaths will also mean less farm hands. Without those people, we will lose food that we could have put into store. It could also lead to bad faith in our King. The people want to have a King who cares about their well being".

Arthur nodded at his servant approvingly. "You see, it is in our best interest to to help these people. I have made up my mind, we are going to help these people, and I want no further discussion on the issue" he looked around the room making sure no one would argue his decision, and once he was satisfied he walked out of the room looking at Merlin to follow him.

Clearly having been dismissed, the other members of the council began to leave the chamber as well. As the people moved about, no one noticed as one noble's narrowed eyes watched the King's servent as he followed him out of the room.

* * *

He knew it would look odd if anyone saw him standing alone in the small clearing with only his horse, that was why he chose that spot though, no one would be looknig for him here. He was waiting on someone, someone a respectable noble should have nothing to with, someone who didn't mind getting his hands dirty. It wasn't that the noble minded such dirty work, but it was to risky to do himself.

A man stepped out of the shadows of the trees, he wore black, indistinguishable clothes, he had a face that could easily blend into a crowd, and his skill with weapons was one to fear. The man was a very well reputed assasin, the noble only heard of him from a spy he had sent to one of the taverns he would never have went to himself.

"I'm glad you came" the noble said, not completely hiding his nerves.

"I wouldn't miss a chance to make a little extra money" the man grunted.

"Of course" answered the noble. He threw a small leather pouch he had just pulled from his cloak to the man "I need you to kill someone for me".

"I see you really want this person dead" the man said looking through the pouch filled with gold coins "for such a price, this person must be important".

"He is, though he shouldn't be" mumbled the noble bitterly. Raising his voice so he was sure to be heard "I want you to take the life of the King's manservant, Merlin."

The man looked surprised at this "I've heard rumor about the boy. His and the King's relationship is very strange, if I were to be caught going after someone so beloved by the King, they would not hesitate to kill me".

"That is why I have paid you so well" the noble said "it will be difficult I know, but if you do not think yourself capable, then I can take my business elsewhere" he made to step away but the man called him back.

"I can do it, don't worry about that" he reassured the noble and then walked away himself once again blending into the shadows of the trees.

As the noble rode back to the castle a wicked grin spread across his face.

* * *

The man was able to enter the castle easily, posing as a servant and keeping out of the way, no one spared him a second glance. It wasn't hard to find his target, all he had to do was find the King.

As he watched the boy, he began to understand what the nobleman had meant when he said that he was important though he shouldn't be. He watched how he and the King acted around one another. It was far more than just master and servant, it was more like two brothers who tried to hide the fact that they actually liked one another.

The knights too seemed to think of him as a younger brother, though in a more open way. They were not afraid to show their affection for him. Sir Gwaine especially seemed to be attached to the boy. He saw how protective the knight could be, as well as how he wanted the boy to lose some of the seriousness that he carried around. That knight seemed the only one in the group to see past the jokes and banter and the clumsiness to see how serious the boy found his job.

The court physician seemed to be more than a father to the boy. He guessed that there was probably some type of familial connection, though it hardly mattered. All that mattered for the two of them was that they were close, connection or no.

The other servants in the castle liked him as well. He hardly passed through a hallway without being said hello to. The younger servants especially looked up to him, to the man that could call the King fat and keep his job. He was a bit of an idol in their eyes.

It was amazing how important this one man was to the life of the castle _and I'm going to kill him _he thought to himself almost regretfully. He didn't exactly feel bad about it, he had schooled himself long ago to care little for the loss of one human life, but he noticed how the boy's death would no doubt change castle life for everyone.

_I could come close to bringing Camelot to its knees with the death of this one servant. _No doubt the man who had paid him for this job did not fully understand what this boy meant to the life of the castle. He was being paid though, so nothing would stop him from killing his target.

* * *

The man stood in the alcove of the hallway, letting the shadows cover him as a night walked by on his rounds. It was far more simple than the man expected to sneak by the reputable knights of Camelot. Strange that the Kingdom that had such a fierce name, was so simple to sneak more strange though, was that he was having to sneak into the famed castle to dispatch a servant. _Everything about the servant was strange_ he mused to himself.

Sighing, he snuck down the hall, and quietly opened the door to the physician's chambers. Thankfully the old man was already asleep, and was easy to slip by. He crept up to the door of the boys room and opened it only a crack, to find the raven haired boy sitting up in his bed with a book in his lap and...

A ball of flame floating in midair sparkling complementary to the boy's _golden _eyes.

_The boy was a sorcerer. A sorcerer, the manservant of the King, a sorcerer. In the middle of Camelot, a sorcerer using magic. He was supposed to kill this boy. He was supposed to kill a sorcerer._

_ Was this why the noble wanted the boy dead? No. If he knew, he would have told the King and he would have put the boy on the pyre._

Images of the King, his knights, and the physician laughing, joking and being with the boy came to mind. _Would the King kill him? _It didn't matter, he had to get out of there.

With all the skills of stealth the man had, he kept himself from making any noise of surprise in his shock. Quietly, he started to back away from the door, though in his haste, he ran into the edge of a table, knocking over a group of potions with a bunch of crashes as the bottles hit the floor.

"Merlin?" the groggy physician mumbled.

"Gaius?" the boy said at the same time rushing out of his room. As the boy's door opened, light filled the room to illuminate the intruder.

Turning quickly he made to go for the door, but the old man stood in his way, having moved faster than an old sleepy man should have been able to. "Who are you?" the physician asked with a raised eyebrow, the boy stayed where he was to the man's immense relief.

"Sorry" the man said, trying desperately to excuse himself from the situation, he did not want to face the sorcerer "I was looking for someone".

"In the dead of night, in the physician's chambers? Is the person you are looking for sick?" the old man asked skeptically.

Something flickered in the boy's eyes as he whirled on the man standing in his and Gaius's chambers "did you see into my room?"

"N-n-no".

The physician's eyebrow rose even higher in clear disbelief and looked at the boy to make plain his views of the man's lies. The boy nodded in agreement.

His eyes traveled from one to the other, _he could blackmail them, or he could swear not to tell... or, depending on how fast the boy could act with his magic, he could threaten the old man and make his escape. That would be risky though..._, at the boy's next words though, he knew his ideas would not work.

"Tell us why your here, and don't try anything. You know I have magic, and I assure you I know how to use it, especially when it is needed". He sounded scary, like a true threat to his life if he did the wrong thing. "The truth would be best" the boy added.

"Fine" sorcerers were way out of his league, if he lived, he would take the money he had and abandon this job "I'm an assassin" he admitted "I was sent to kill you, but I wasn't aware you were a sorcerer, don't worry, I'm not stupid enough to try and kill you now, or risk you killing me later if I spill your secret. Let me go and I promise to leave Camelot".

"Who sent you after him?" the old man questioned.

"A noble, I don't know his name, I promise"

The sorcerer looked down at him pointedly "If you try again, I will not let you go".

The assassin nodded his head "I understand".

"Get out of here, and never let me see you come near my ward again" the physician warned with paternal protectiveness clear in his voice. The man wasted no time in leaving the room, the castle and the close by villages, he wanted nothing to do with magic users.

The old man, starting to calm down now looked up at his ward "it looks like you really got to the council the other day".

"Yeah, it seems their pretty sore losers. They should just accept Arthur has a conscience when it comes to his people".

"I think they did, and I think they realized that his conscience looks a lot like the clumsy manservant to the King" he looked pointedly at Merlin and then let his tone get softer as he added "you have really changed Arthur for the better Merlin, and others can see that as well, though obviously, not all of them like it".

"Just something else to deal with"he sighed then gave a small chuckle "luckily for me they picked a coward of an assassin" Merlin joked.

Gaius rolled his eyes at his ward's nonchalant take on someone's attempt on his life and simply said to him "get some rest Merlin, just because someone tried to kill you doesn't mean that you don't have to work tomorrow".

"It never does" the warlock sighed and went back into his room thinking about the chores Arthur would no doubt expect him to do within the day.


End file.
